SV Werder Bremen achieved their goal of survival for the 2022/23 season, meaning the club will be in the Bundesliga once again next term. Ole Werner’s side experienced a number of highs and lows over the past 34 matchdays on their way to securing safety. We’ve taken a look back at the stats and facts from this season for you.
Goals galore: Niclas Füllkrug (16) and Marvin Ducksch (12) scored 28 league goals between them, making them the most prolific strike force in the division. Even the champions FC Bayern couldn’t match this tally, with their best duo of Jamal Musiala and Serge Gnabry only finding the net a combined 26 times. Ducksch had the most shots of any player in the Bundesliga this season (93), even though Werder themselves recorded the fewest shots of any side. Ducksch and Füllkrug were responsible for 47% of SVW’s shots in 2022/23.
Pass machines: The defensive midfielder plays an important role in Ole Werner’s system. Christian Groß and Ilia Gruev were the main men for this role this season, as they looked to help build up play from just in front of the defence. Teams cannot afford to lose the ball in this area of the pitch, so it’s a vital role for any side. Gruev (90.3%) had the highest pass completion rate at the club in 2022/23, with Groß just behind him (88.4%). Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Nico Elvedi topped the league in this category (94.5%).
Tough tackler: Amos Pieper had an excellent first season at SV Werder. The centre-back, who arrived last summer from Arminia Bielefeld, was SVW’s best tackler this season, winning 62.3% of his duels. Borussia Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck, Pieper’s centre-back partner for the successful U21 Euro campaign with Germany in 2021, had the highest challenge success rate in the Bundesliga this term (66.8%). Werder’s summer signing was even stronger when it came to aerial duels (70.1%) – only Dortmund’s Emre Can (73.3%), VfB Stuttgart’s Konstantinos Mavropanos (71.6%) and Gladbach’s Joe Scally (70.8%) were more dominant in the air.
The joint 2022/23 Bundesliga top goalscorer:
— SV Werder Bremen EN (@werderbremen_en) May 27, 2023
NICLAS FÜLLKRUG ????⚽#werderpic.twitter.com/k8ehYKBIie
Most minutes played: It’s not surprising that goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka played the most minutes for Werder this season (2,909). The Czech international only missed the game against Borussia Mönchengladbach and had to come off injured in the home match against FC Augsburg. Striker Marvin Ducksch was only on the pitch for 46 less minutes than his goalkeeper, and played in every single league game, just like left-back Anthony Jung. The only outfield player to play every single minute this season was SC Freiburg’s Matthias Ginter.
Marathon runners: Marvin Ducksch ended the season with the most distance covered for a Werder player (327 kilometres), 4.9 kilometres more than Anthony Jung. No Bundesliga striker ran further than Ducksch this term, who ranked 20th overall for most distance covered. The league leader in this regard was Köln’s midfielder Ellyes Skhiri (393.6 kilometres).
The sprinters: Mitchell Weiser and Eren Dinkci both recorded the fastest speed for Werder players this season (35.1 km/h). Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi registered the top speed in the Bundesliga in 2022/23 with 36.7 km/h, fending off competition from Union Berlin’s Sheraldo Becker (36.6), FC Bayern’s Alphonso Davies (36.5) and Bayer Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby (36.5).
